


Officer Lance

by the_nvisiblegirl



Series: Post-Episode Shenanigans (Season 5) [10]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Episode Tag, Episode: s05 e14 The One Where We're Trapped on TV, F/F, Fluff, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26977456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_nvisiblegirl/pseuds/the_nvisiblegirl
Summary: Lieutenant Sara Lance speaks at Star City Elementary's careers day. Second grade teacher Ava Sharpe jumps to conclusions. And 7-year-old Esi Jiwe is the best wing woman out there.Or: The teacher/cop AU nobody asked for (that's also 5 months late).
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Series: Post-Episode Shenanigans (Season 5) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734784
Comments: 40
Kudos: 124





	Officer Lance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [polotiz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/polotiz/gifts).



> Right, this has been on my hard drive half-finished ever since the episode aired. First, because I wasn't motivated enough to finish. Then, because I didn't think I should finish it.
> 
> This is in no way a pro-cop fic. I think police, especially in the United States, should be de-funded if not totally abolished. It has a long, well-documented history of institutionalized racism. It doesn't protect us. This John Oliver segment sums the issue up pretty well: https://youtu.be/Wf4cea5oObY
> 
> This one's for polotiz. Look, I actually finished it. (Had to bribe myself to do it by promising to give my best friend ten bucks if I don't. You gotta do what you gotta do.)
> 
> Anyway: enjoy, punks!

“I can promise you Noah is doing just fine, Mr. Heywood,” Ava said, looking over to the boy in question—who was currently playing an intense-looking round of Go Fish with Lita—and back to his father.

“Don’t you think that—”

She smiled.

“No, I don’t. Behavior like this—to a degree—is perfectly normal. I have talked to him and he was very understanding. He knows what he did was wrong. I don’t think it will happen again.”

He considered her for a moment.

“Alright. Thank you, Miss Sharpe.”

“No problem. I can’t wait to hear everything about theme parks from you later. The children are already excited.”

They shook hands and Mr. Heywood made his way back to his son when he almost walked smack into a blonde woman Ava didn’t recognize, who had just entered the room. She was wearing a police uniform, hair pinned back into a neat bun, and she had the most beautiful sea-blue eyes Ava had ever seen.

She swallowed, mentally running through a list of all the parents in an attempt to figure out whose mother the unfamiliar woman was.

Before she could come to any sort of conclusion, however, the mystery seemingly solved itself when Esi, Amaya Jiwe’s daughter, came running toward the woman and threw herself into her arms without hesitation. The blonde caught her easily before lifting her onto her hip, biceps flexing in the process, and Ava couldn’t help but stare.

“Hey pumpkin, what’s happening?” the woman laughed at the enthusiastic welcome as she looked around the room. Ava just kept staring. Her smile was mesmerizing, magnetic—the way it lit up her entire face, made her eyes glint and the space above her nose crinkle slightly—and Ava could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage at the sight.

The blonde was absolutely _gorgeous_.

“All the mommies and daddies are here!” Esi yell-explained with the boundless energy and joy only a child had, gesturing toward the other side of the room were most of the parents were already waiting.

“I can see that, baby.”

She chuckled, pressing a kiss into the little girl’s hair.

It was then, when the woman looked up again, that their eyes met and Ava’s breath hitched. She was sure she looked like a deer caught in the headlights—like an absolute _idiot_ —but she just couldn’t help herself. The tendency to freeze when confronted with an attractive woman had been an issue even before she’d realized she was gay. It was annoying, really. Inconvenient. Embarrassing.

Ava shook her head lightly to jolt herself out of her stupor. ****

How come Ava had never seen this woman before? Because she was one hundred percent sure that she hadn’t—there was no way she would have forgotten that face.

But Esi had been in her class for the past year and a half and she could not remember anyone other than her mother ever picking the little girl up. There had been no mention of a significant other at all. Amaya had attended every parent teacher conference, bake sale, and field trip by herself, leading Ava to assume that she was a single mother. Esi had never actually mentioned a father—or another mother. Maybe this was a more recent development, she mused.

Esi seemed very comfortable around the blonde, though—both when it came to giving and receiving physical affection, which was an indication that the two of them’d had time to get used to each other, that they spent a significant amount of time together. Currently, the little girl was animatedly explaining something to the adult in front of her by the looks of it, arms gesticulating wildly in any and all directions. Although they didn’t look alike at all physically, their emotional connection was clear as day, the blonde’s eyes shining with love and affection.

The sudden, shrill sound of the bell ringing interrupted Ava's musings before she could come to any kind of conclusion.

With one last look at the blonde who was sitting on one of the small kids chairs, Ava got up from behind her desk and walked over to the blackboard to get today’s event started.

“Welcome everyone,” she greeted as she looked around the room, pointedly avoiding the corner where Esi and the beautiful stranger were because she knew the sight would do nothing but distract her.

“Firstly, I want to thank all the parents for taking some time out of their busy days and joining us to speak about their careers. We are really looking forward to hearing from all of you.”

She smiled.

Career days were one of her favorite days of the year, not only because it gave the parents an opportunity to engage with their kids in a meaningful way but also because some of them had genuinely fascinating and unique jobs. Throughout the years, she’d had, among other things, a stage manager, a hippotherapist, and an astronomer in her classroom and she’d listened to them with almost more enthusiasm than the kids. She loved her job, loved seeing these little humans blossom and learn and grow, but sometimes she yearned for some more adventure in her day-to-day life, for something new—something _exciting_.

She continued by laying out the plan for the day before handing over to Suri’s mother Dr. Tarazi, a pediatrician, whose talk was followed by ones from a writer, a firefighter, and a nurse until it was finally the beautiful stranger’s turn.

“Hi everyone! I’m Officer Sara Lance and I’m a police officer at the Star City police department.”

_Sara._

The name echoed in Ava’s head like a prayer.

As soon as she had introduced herself, the children started bombarding her with a million questions—anything from “Can you put me in handcuffs?” to “Do you like donuts and if so what’s your favorite kind?”

Ava listened intently to every single answer.

She learned that Sara had been with the force for the past decade—making her presumably five years younger than Ava herself—had recently been promoted to the role of lieutenant, and preferred cookies to donuts.

“Do you have a gun as well?” Leo Palmer, ever the little researcher (just like his father), asked then and, immediately, Sara’s face became serious.

“I do, yes,” she replied, pointing to a holster at the side of her belt. “It’s in here.”

“Can we see it?”

“Uhh,” the previously so confident woman stuttered and looked over to Ava, clearly hesitant to show the children her weapon.

A silent understanding passed between them and the older woman cleared her throat.

“Children, let’s move on, ok? Any other questions for Lieutenant Lance?” she prompted in an effort to defuse the situation, to ease Sara’s palpable discomfort. And, really, it made Ava uncomfortable as well, having the children be so close to a loaded weapon. There was already so much violence in the world they were confronted with on a daily basis—in the news, in movies, in video games—there was no need to perpetuate this oversaturation any further.

In return, Ava received a grateful smile that made her heart flutter.

Mason—oblivious to the tension in the room—lifted his hand.

“Do you have any pets?”

Sara visibly relaxed at the question.

“Unfortunately, no. I really want a dog, though.”

“I have a dog. His name is Otis.”

“That’s awesome!”

“I know,” Mason shrugged and Sara laughed.

The rest of the morning went off without a hitch as all parents got a turn to tell the children about their respective careers. But Ava only half listened, thoughts straying back to Sara time and again. Much like her thoughts, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of her either, so she found herself looking over to Sara several times over the next hour and a half. She was back on the tiny chair, legs coming up to her chest—a position that should look ridiculous on a grown woman but was, somehow, endearing in this case.

Once all the parents had spoken, she thanked them once again for their time and dismissed the children for the rest of the day because she knew they wouldn’t be able to concentrate—plus it was almost summer break, anyway.

Ava had just given June’s father the details about the last PTA meeting of the school year when she turned and, unexpectedly, came face to face with Lieutenant Lance of all people.

Up close she was even more beautiful than from across the room, all freckles and eyes you could drown in. Ava gulped.

“Thanks for the safe up there,” she smiled and Ava almost melted at seeing this spectacle up close—the delicate skin around the other woman’s eyes crinkled, two rows of perfectly white teeth, a hint of a dimple on her right cheek. She smiled back.

“No problem.” ****

Immediately, an awkward silence settled upon them as they just stood in front of each other, still smiling.

The urge to ask the other woman what the deal with her and Amaya was was almost impossible to suppress but Ava couldn’t for the life of her come up with a smooth, covert way of doing it. Sara looked at her inquisitively, seeming to be at a similar loss for words, so Ava made the decision to just come right out with it. ****

“Are you Miss Jiwe’s... partner?”

“Yes, I am,” the blonde confirmed and Ava couldn’t help the pang of disappointment she felt. “But please call me Sara.”

She reached out, offering Ava her hand to shake.

“Of course, _Sara_.”

The grip was firm, strong, and Ava only reluctantly let go again.

“You must be Miss Sharpe. I’ve heard _a lot_ about you.”

Ava’s heart skipped a beat.

“You have?”

She knew she sounded like an absolute, lovesick idiot. She knew that she should nip this in the bud before she could develop a more serious infatuation. This was practically a parent of one of her students—a parent _in a relationship_.

“Yeah, Esi won’t shut up about her—and I quote—pretty teacher with the Rapunzel hair.”

“Well, I—” Ava stammered and blushed like a teenager talking to her very first crush. If Sara noticed, she didn’t comment. Instead, she leaned slightly closer and whispered conspiratorially, “I have to say: I agree with her assessment,” before winking.

Ava blushed even harder, brain unable to compute what was going on right now. Was Sara _flirting_ with her?

Just as she was about to reply—and before she could further question what was going on right now—Esi came running over to them, no doubt saving her from embarrassing herself even more.

“You are the coolest, Auntie Sara!”

The blonde laughed, lifting up her arm and holding her palm out toward the girl.

“Hey kid! Up top!”

Esi enthusiastically slapped her hand against Sara’s as hard as she could.

“Your mom’s got things to do at the precinct so I guess you’re stuck with me for the next couple of hours.”

“Can we go to the zoo?”

Sara shrugged, a lopsided smile on her face.

“Sure, go get your stuff.”

“Awesome!”

And with that, Esi was gone again, leaving Ava confused to the point of being speechless.

“I’m sorry, you’re _not_ Esi’s mother?” she said eventually. It sounded way more accusatory than necessary.

Sara let out something between a scoff and a chuckle.

“No, of course not.”

“But you said—”

“You thought Amaya and I are a couple?” Sara interrupted her, seeming so genuinely surprised that Ava’s stomach immediately dropped.

 _Oh God_. Oh no. No no no no no no no.

She looked down at her hands. Cleared her throat. Then lifted her gaze again.

“I apologize, Officer Lance. _Sara_. I didn’t mean to assume that you’re…”

Ava didn’t dare finish the sentence. She’d already fucked up enough for today—no need to put her foot in her mouth again.

Instead of saying something, one of Sara’s eyebrows arched up in challenge.

“Gay?” she queried a moment later, expression unreadable.

At this point, Ava was so flustered that she didn’t trust herself enough to actually say anything without further embarrassing herself so, instead, she stayed quiet, praying that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. (It didn’t, unfortunately.)

Sara left her floundering for a moment longer before a mirthful smirk appeared on her face.

“I’m bisexual, actually,” she said with a wink. _An honest-to-God wink_.

“Good,” Ava replied, immediately regretting it. “I mean, that’s… well done.”

She winced.

 _Well done?_ What the hell was _wrong_ with her? She had to sound like a grade A homophobe right now. (Or a useless lesbian. One of the two. She genuinely didn’t know which one was worse.)

But Sara only chuckled.

“Thanks.”

They looked at each other for a moment, neither woman sure what to say next, when Esi re-appeared next to Sara.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking from Sara to Ava curiously.

Sara put a hand on the little girl’s head.

“We’re just talking.”

“About what?”

“The weather,” Ava replied just as Sara said, “My love life.”

_Smooth._

Esi’s brows furrowed in confusion before she seemed to suddenly have some form of epiphany.

“Miss Sharpe doesn’t have a husband. She said so on Valentine’s Day.”

Immediately, Sara’s eyes snapped up to meet Ava’s own.

“I’m not really…” Ava started, hesitating briefly because she was unsure if she should share—how she _could_ share—that she wasn’t straight either. Well, fair was fair, she figured.

“… the husband kind.”

Sara seemed to understand _exactly_ what she meant if the expression on her face was any indication. Her lips were pursed, head tilted, as she regarded Ava with such an intensity—with such _possibility_ —that a shiver ran down the taller woman’s spine.

“Maybe you can be her wife, Auntie Sara,” Esi offered helpfully then, and the moment was over.

 _Fuck._ What could she possibly reply to that? _Great idea let's go down to the courthouse right now? I'm game if you are?_ Sara was probably seeing someone. She had to be. There was no way she was single, not with Ava's luck. And even if, the chances that she was interest in Ava were slim to none.

She was spiraling, she could feel it, but she didn't know what to say, didn't know how to come back from this. Sara made the decision for her before she could figure it out.

“Woah, slow your roll, kid. I haven’t even taken her out on a date yet.”

The blonde chuckled but turned serious again a moment later. ****

“So, what do you say?”

The hopeful look she was giving Ava was likely the most endearing thing she had ever seen—and she worked with elementary school children who could pout like nobody’s business.

Her heart was hammering in her chest. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that this was actually real. Maybe Sara was joking? She had to be, right?

“I—I’d like that,” Ava said anyway, too enthralled by the sheer possibility to refuse.

It seemed to be the right answer because a blinding smile appeared on Sara’s face.

“Are you free on Friday night?”

“I am.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it,” she said before turning to the little girl still standing to her right. “You, Esi, are without a doubt the best wingwoman I’ve ever had.”

She lifted her up easily, arms flexing in the process as she settled Esi onto her hip again before starting to tickle her. Ava couldn’t help but look at her biceps. (Respectfully, of course.) Esi giggled.

“But I don’t even have wings, Auntie Sara.”

Sara laughed at that, delivering one last poke to Esi’s stomach before turning to Ava again. ****

“I’ll pick you up at seven?” she asked, pulling a business card from her shirt pocket and handing it to Ava. “Text me your address.”

“Will do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? (Sequel?)


End file.
